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Sunday Patriots Notes
Notes and thoughts on the Patriots and the NFL.
Nate Ebner tells the story of his trip to the Olympic Games. Appearing on Chris Long’s Green Light podcast last week, former Patriots special teamer Nate Ebner spoke about a variety of issues. One of the most interesting parts of the conversation was him speaking about his trip to the Olympic Games in 2016; Ebner participated in the rugby 7s as part of the United States’ squad.
Ebner, of course, had just signed a new contract extension with the Patriots ahead of his leave of absence.
“I became a free agent after that 2015 season — well, I didn’t quite become a free agent — but I talked to Bill and we got the contract squared,” he said. “I was like, ‘Look, Bill, I’m glad we got that squared, but rugby’s in the Olympics and I want to try to do that.’ I said, ‘This is something that I want to do. I feel very conflicted.’ It wasn’t a question, it was more like ‘This is something I’m going to do and if you can’t get with that I totally get it. But I have to do this; I’d think about it my whole life if I don’t.’
“We had that conversation, and instantly Bill is like, ‘Oh yeah, go for it.’ He didn’t have any hesitation.”
Ebner added that the Patriots ultimately went on to adjust his contract in order to account for his trip to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. That said, the whole experience was a positive one for the now-34-year-old.\
“I never thought it would work out that well,” he said. “And then to get that support, that leadership from Bill and the Patriots organization, Mr. Kraft, they were all wearing my shirt and supporting me, stopped training camp to watch me play ... that’s a first-class organization. I don’t care what anybody says, that place is awesome. Great people, and that’s a great example of it.”
Ebner, Long and the rest of the 2016 Patriots ultimately won the Super Bowl just six months after the Olympic Games.
